Final Fantasy Story Chapter 18

The Final Battle

By Nathan Jones

Kefka walked into the room where Relm still lay tied to the table, and proceeded to prepare for the ritual, which Fosoya had only moments before his death revealed the instructions to. Behind him, shining in all its glory, was the legendary Crystal of Light. Its power, along with Relm’s very life force, would combine to fuse Kefka with the power to control the world, as well we everlasting life.

“Relm must be sacrificed along with someone she holds dear.” Fosoya had said.

Kefka pondered the thought. “Someone she holds dear.” He said out loud.

He walked over to the table where Relm was still struggling to free herself.

“Who do you hold dear to your heart you one?” he mocked, “Surely there is someone within that band of insolent fools which you have strong feelings for. I wonder.” He said as he circled the young girl, “Who could it be?”

Relm spat in Kefka’s face. “Go to hell!” she screamed.

“After you child.” Kefka replied, slapping the young girl across the face.

Relm cried out in pain and at that very moment, the doors to the room suddenly swung open and something hit the floor in front of Kefka. Kefka looked upon the lifeless body of Melkiah and smiled.

“Looks like your friends have finally arrived my dear.” He said drawing his blade, “Now for some real action.” Kefka began to chant a dark spell. “Nora kama see nara.” He chanted, “Nak Kara Zak!”

As the last word left his lips, a dark surge of energy exploded from his outstretched palms and shot forth towards the doorway. It hit the stone, and upon impact, shattered the wall like glass. As the smoke cleared, Kefka looked upon the Warriors of Light, standing tall with their weapons drawn.

“This is the end for you Kefka!” Edgar shouted, his blade gleaming with fluorescent light. “Now you will pay for your crimes against this world!”

“On the contrary dear king,” Kefka snickered, “It is you who will perish this day. Tell me something Edgar, how easy was it for you to get inside my tower?”

Edgar stood there for a moment pondering the question. “A little too easy for my tastes.” The king replied dragging the tip of his blade across the floor.

“And why do you suppose that was the case?” Kefka asked, slowly beginning to chant a dark spell under his breath.

“I think,” Edgar replied, “That you finally figured out that there is no way you can ever win against us. Therefore, you opted for the first chance you could get to let us in.”

Kefka laughed at the young king’s words and began to walk over to the far side of the room. “Look Edgar.” He said, pointing to the Crystal of Light, “Know what this is?”

Edgar looked at the crystal, glowing brightly with purple flame, and gave his answer. “Yes Kefka.” He said, “It’s your attempt at a power which you will never obtain.”

“That is where you are wrong!” Kefka shot back. “I have made all the necessary preparations. All that is left is to sacrifice this young girl. With her power, along with the Crystal of Light’s, I will be able to revive the Dark God Zeromus. In the process, I will gain one more thing Edgar, everlasting life. Think about that for a minute king of Figaro. An everlasting reign of evil. Oh how wonderful that would be!” Kefka added, dancing around the room like a madman.

Edgar stared at the dark lord and spoke. “No Kefka.” He said, “Your days of evil are over. No longer will we allow you to terrorize this world with your insanity. The time of judgment has come for you Kefka. “ Edgar said, pointing his sword at the dark lord, “Prepare to die.”

Upon saying these words, Edgar and the warriors of light dashed at Kefka with their weapons raised high. One by one they fell upon the Lord of Darkness, and one by one they were thrown back by Kefka’s magic.

“We can’t touch him!” Celes cried out as she desperately searched for another tactic, “No matter what we do, he seems to get the best of us.”

“With that attitude,” Cyan shot in, running towards Kefka, “He most certainly will! Get up and try again!”

Celes and the other warriors did as Cyan commanded, and just as before, they were all thrown back against the stone walls.

“It’s no use!” Gau exclaimed, “He’s got some sort of barrier protecting him!”

“Well then we’ll just have to get rid of it!” Edgar shouted. “Setzer you do the honors!”

“With pleasure!” Setzer replied. He positioned himself out of harm’s way, and slowly began to chant a magical spell. “Oh Goddess of light and justice.” He chanted. “Throw off these false garments and reveal thy true from. Dispel this evil barrier and ensure us our victory!”

A ball of bright light formed within Setzer’s hands, and grew to massive size. It then shot forth straight at Kefka, and impacted upon an invisible magical wall. It consumed the wall of magic within itself, and as quickly as it had appeared, dispersed into thin air.

“That should be it!” Setzer cried to Edgar. “Now try again!”

Edgar didn’t waste any time, and leapt into the air. Kefka didn’t have any time to produce a defensive spell, and was struck on his right arm by Edgar’s blade. He cried out in pain, and backed away clutching his arm. This gave Celes the opportunity she had been waiting for, and she quickly darted for Relm who still lay struggling to free herself. She quickly made quick work of Relm’s bonds with her sword, and in a matter of a few seconds, the young girl was finally free.

“Thank the gods you arrived when you did!” Relm exclaimed. “If you had come any later, I would have been dead.”

Celes smiled and quickly lifted the young girl from the table, laying her safely behind a stone pillar. “Don’t move.” She said, “This will all be over soon.”

Relm nodded her head and watched in admiration as Celes ran back into the heated battle. All around the room, the warriors were taking turns dealing blows to Kefka, who did an amazing job of parrying each blow. Every once in awhile, one of the warriors would get in a blow or two, yet they were not sufficient enough to stop the dark lord from countering with one of his own. Gau was having the most trouble, and seemed to get knocked down every time he managed to stand up. Kefka, who had continued to take a step back every time he parried a blow, was getting dangerously close to the edge of the room. For you see, the room was only covered by a stone floor for half of it perimeter. Floating in a magical mist, and glowing brightly on the other side, was the Crystal of Light. Kefka continued to back away from the onslaught of blows, and before long, he reached the edge of the room. By this time, Edgar had managed to work his way up to Kefka, who quickly drew a sword of his own. The two began to parry blades, and Edgar quickly realized that Kefka was a master swordsman as well as a master in the art of magic. With each consecutive blow that Edgar dealt, Kefka managed to block it and deliver one of his own. One barely missed taking off Edgar’s head, and he ducked down and to the right to avoid being decapitated. Kefka tricked the young king however, and quickly produced a heavy downward stroke. His blade managed to make contact with Edgar’s armor, cutting a large hole into the side. Edgar screamed out in pain, and clutched his side still trying to fend off Kefka’s barrage of sword blows. Kefka finally managed to knock Edgar’s sword from his hand, and placed his blade up to Edgar’s neck.

“Now you die.” He hissed.

He pulled his sword back, and just as he was about to strike, Edgar kicked the dark lord in the chest with all his might. The force of the kick sent Kefka stumbling back onto the edge of the ledge overlooking the Crystal of Light, and Edgar saw his chance.

“This is the end for you!” Edgar shouted. “It’s time for your destruction!”

He gave the signal, and each of the warriors lunged at Kefka at once with all the speed they could muster. One by one they plunged their weapons into his body, and Kefka howled in agony as he felt his life slipping away. Around this time, Relm had managed to sneak around to the corner of the room, and chanted a holding spell on Kefka. The spell pinned the dark lord where he stood, with each of the warriors still holding their weapons steadfast in his flesh.

“Everyone get out of the way!” Relm shouted, “I’m gonna finish this once and for all!”

“No Relm!” Edgar shouted, “You cant!’

“I have to Edgar!” Relm shouted back, “You and I both know there is no other way! I must cast Ultima on Kefka!”

“But you’ll die!” Edgar called to her. “Don’t you see? You’ll be throwing your life away! There has to be another way! Please don’t go through with this!”

“I have no choice.” Relm cried, “I’m not throwing my life away. I know what I’m doing. I knew what I was doing when I set out to obtain this power, and now I intend to use it. I love you all more than you know, but if I don’t go through with this, then Kefka will destroy us all.” “

You are wrong.” Cyan called out to Relm, “There is one other way.”

The warriors each gasped at his words, and Relm looked upon Cyan with tears in her eyes.

“As you know,” Cyan explained, “It was a sacrifice that brought Kefka back to life. So shall it be his demise.”

“What do you mean?” Edgar asked.

“One of us most sacrifice himself to seal Kefka once and for all.” Cyan said aloud, “And I will be the one to do it.”

“No Cyan you cant!” Celes cried, “You cant die.”

Cyan looked into her eyes and hugged her. “Do not fear child.” He said, “I have no regrets. I have long lived in this world without the company of my wife and child. It is to them that I go to when I die. If I die saving this world, then I have no regrets about giving my life. You all have so much to live for. And as much as I love each and every one of you, I have longed to be with my dead wife and child since the day that they perished at the hands of this madman. It is my honor to give my life to seal him away forever. Remove your blades.” He said, “I will finish this.”

The warriors reluctantly removed their weapons from Kefka’s body and Kefka gasped as blood flowed from the many wounds. Cyan drew his sword Masamune from its blade, and plunged it into Kefka’s heart.

“This is for Doma!” he shouted, ripping the blade from Kefka’s chest, “This is for my wife and child!” he shouted, slicing Kefka across the gut. “And this is for me!’

With that, the warrior of Doma plunged his sword all the way through Kefka’s body and pushed the lord of destruction over the edge of the platform. Pushing all his weight onto the blade, Cyan pulled himself over the ledge as well, and he, along with Kefka, plummeted into the pit where the Crystal of Light floated within its magical energy. As they fell, Cyan used the last bit of his strength to fuse his blade with all the dark energy he could muster. The two men finally made contact with the Crystal, and shattered the crystal upon impact. The crystal exploded with a tremendous blast of energy causing the ledge where the rest of the warriors stood to crumble.

“Come on everyone!” Edgar shouted, “We’ve got to get out of here!”

The warriors ran down the steps of the tower, and dodged pieces of the crumbling tower as they made their descent to the bottom. The run to the bottom was dangerous, and Celes suddenly slipped into a crack. She began to fall, but was quickly caught by Locke who then pulled her back to safety.

“Come on.” He said, pulling her along, “We have to keep going.”

When they reached the bottom of the tower, Setzer’s airship was already waiting for them. Each of the warriors jumped aboard, and Setzer quickly steered the airship away from the crumbling tower. Through Setzer’s expert skills as a pilot, and a hefty amount of prayer from Gau, the airship managed to sail away just as Kefka’s tower came crumbling down. The airship shot off from the city with tremendous speed, and, as each of the warriors watched, the city of Vector, along with Kefka, exploded in a blast of magical energy.

“Goodbye Cyan.” Edgar said bowing his head, “You will be missed dear friend.”

With that, Setzer steered the airship for the castle of Figaro, and the warriors watched with admiration as the ruins of the once proud Imperial City of Vector grew more and more distant along the horizon. Celes and the others walked over to Edgar, who was praying to the gods thanking them for their victory.

“It’s finally over.” She said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Edgar said, smiling and wrapping his arm around her, “It’s finally over.”

The airship sailed through the sky to the safety of the castle of Figaro, and the warriors all smiled with satisfaction, all the while embracing each other as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. The reign of Kefka was over, the world was once again at peace, and it was certain that from this point on, evil was banished from the world forever.


Epilogue

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